Pardon and Forgiveness (Spurgeon’s Faith’s Checkbook)

From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
Pardon and Forgiveness
November 24
He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. (Psalm 103:9)

He will chide sometimes, or He would not be a wise Father for such poor, erring children as we are. His chiding is very painful to those who are true, because they feel how sadly they deserve it and how wrong it is on their part to grieve Him. We know what this chiding means, and we bow before the Lord, mourning that we should cause Him to be angry with us.
But what a comfort we find in these lines! “Not always” will He chide. If we repent and turn to Him with hearts broken for sin and broken from sin, He will smile upon us at once. It is no pleasure to Him to turn a frowning face toward those whom He loves with all His heart: it is His joy that our joy should be full.
Come, let us seek His face. There is no reason for despair, nor even for despondency. Let us love a chiding God, and before long we shall sing, “Thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortest me.” Be gone, ye dark forebodings, ye ravens of the soul! Come in, ye humble hopes and grateful memories, ye doves of the heart! He who pardoned us long ago as a judge will again forgive us as a father, and we shall rejoice in His sweet, unchanging love.

From the Faith’s Checkbook Mobile Devotional Android app – http://www.LookingUpwardApps.com/fcb

 

Perfect Willingness (Spurgeon’s Faith’s Checkbook)

From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
Perfect Willingness
September 20
Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power. (Psalm 110:3)

Blessed be the God of grace that it is so! He has a people whom He has chosen from of old to be His peculiar portion. These by nature have wills as stubborn as the rest of the forward sons of Adam; but when the day of His power comes and grace displays its omnipotence, they become willing to repent and to believe in Jesus. None are saved unwillingly, but the will is made sweetly to yield itself. What a wondrous power is this, which never violates the will and yet rules it! God does not break the lock, but He opens it by a master key which He alone can handle.
Now are we willing to be, to do, or to suffer as the Lord wills. If at any time we grow rebellious, He has but to come to us with power, and straightway we run in the way of His commands with all our hearts. May this be a day of power with me as to some noble effort for the glory of God and the good of my fellowmen! Lord, I am willing; may I not hope that this is a day of Thy power? I am wholly at Thy disposal; willing, yea, eager, to be used of Thee for Thy holy purposes. O Lord, let me not have to cry, “To will is present with me, but how to perform that which I would, I find not”; but give me power as Thou givest me will.

From the Faith’s Checkbook Mobile Devotional Android app – http://www.LookingUpwardApps.com/fcb

 

Bible Verse

Joe 2
Chapter 2

1 Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain:

let all the inhabitants of the land tremble:

for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand;

2 A day of darkness and of gloominess,

a day of clouds and of thick darkness,

as the morning spread upon the mountains:

a great people and a strong;

there hath not been ever the like,

neither shall be any more after it,

even to the years of many generations.

3 A fire devoureth before them;

and behind them a flame burneth:

the land is as the garden of Eden before them,

and behind them a desolate wilderness;

yea, and nothing shall escape them.

4 The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses;

and as horsemen, so shall they run.

5 Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap,

like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble,

as a strong people set in battle array.

6 Before their face the people shall be much pained:

all faces shall gather blackness.

7 They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war;

and they shall march every one on his ways,

and they shall not break their ranks:

8 Neither shall one thrust another;

they shall walk every one in his path:

and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded.

9 They shall run to and fro in the city;

they shall run upon the wall,

they shall climb up upon the houses;

they shall enter in at the windows like a thief.

10 The earth shall quake before them;

the heavens shall tremble:

the sun and the moon shall be dark,

and the stars shall withdraw their shining:

11 And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army:

for his camp is very great:

for he is strong that executeth his word:

for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible;

and who can abide it?

12 Therefore also now, saith the Lord,

turn ye even to me with all your heart,

and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:

13 And rend your heart, and not your garments,

and turn unto the Lord your God:

for he is gracious and merciful,

slow to anger, and of great kindness,

and repenteth him of the evil.

14 Who knoweth if he will return and repent,

and leave a blessing behind him;

even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the Lord your God?

15 Blow the trumpet in Zion,

sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:

16 Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders,

gather the children, and those that suck the breasts:

let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.

17 Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar,

and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord,

and give not thine heritage to reproach,

that the heathen should rule over them:

wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?

18 Then will the Lord be jealous for his land,

and pity his people.

19 Yea, the Lord will answer and say unto his people,

Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil,

and ye shall be satisfied therewith:

and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen:

20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,

and will drive him into a land barren and desolate,

with his face toward the east sea,

and his hinder part toward the utmost sea,

and his stink shall come up,

and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.

21 Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice:

for the Lord will do great things.

22 Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field:

for the pastures of the wilderness do spring,

for the tree beareth her fruit,

the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength.

23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God:

for he hath given you the former rain moderately,

and he will cause to come down for you the rain,

the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.

24 And the floors shall be full of wheat,

and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil.

25 And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten,

the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm,

my great army which I sent among you.

26 And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied,

and praise the name of the Lord your God,

that hath dealt wondrously with you:

and my people shall never be ashamed.

27 And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel,

and that I am the Lord your God, and none else:

and my people shall never be ashamed.

28 And it shall come to pass afterward,

that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh;

and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

your old men shall dream dreams,

your young men shall see visions:

29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids

in those days will I pour out my spirit.

30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth,

blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.

31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood,

before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come.

32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered:

for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance,

as the Lord hath said,

and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.
� KJV

 

Surgery for Healing (Spurgeon’s Faith’s Checkbook)

From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
Surgery for Healing
May 14
Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. (Hosea 6:1)

It is the Lord’s way to tear before He heals. This is the honest love of His heart and the sure surgery of His hand. He also bruises before He binds up, or else it would be uncertain work. The law comes before the gospel, the sense of need before the supply of it. Is the reader now under the convincing, crushing hand of the Spirit? Has he received the spirit of bondage again to fear? This is a salutary preliminary to real gospel healing and binding up.
Do not despair, dear heart, but come to the Lord with all thy jagged wounds, black bruises, and running sores. He alone can heal, and He delights to do it. It is our Lord’s office to bind up the brokenhearted, and He is gloriously at home at it. Let us not linger but at once return unto the Lord from whom we have gone astray. Let us show Him our gaping wounds and beseech him to know His own work and complete it. Will a surgeon make an incision and then leave his patient to bleed to death? Will the Lord pull down our old house and then refuse to build us a better one? Dost Thou ever wantonly increase the misery of poor anxious souls? That be far from Thee, O Lord.

From the Faith’s Checkbook Mobile Devotional Android app – http://www.LookingUpwardApps.com/fcb

 

Let No Evil Remain (Spurgeon’s Faith’s Checkbook)

From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
Let No Evil Remain
May 7
And there shall cleave nought of the cursed thing to thine hand: that the Lord may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and show thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers. (Deuteronomy 13:17)

Israel must conquer idolatrous cities and destroy all the spoil, regarding all that had been polluted by idolatry as an accursed thing to be burned with fire. Now, sin of all sorts must be treated by Christians in the same manner. We must not allow a single evil habit to remain. It is now war to the knife with sins of all sorts and sizes, whether of the body, the mind, or the spirit. We do not look upon this giving up of evil as deserving mercy, but we regard it as a fruit of the grace of God, which we would on no account miss.
When God causes us to have no mercy on our sins, then He has great mercy on us. When we are angry with evil, God is no more angry with us. When we multiply our efforts against iniquity, the Lord multiplies our blessings. The way of peace, of growth, of safety, of joy in Christ Jesus will be found by following out these words: “There shall nought of the cursed thing cleave to thine hand.” Lord, purify me this day. Compassion, prosperity, increase, and joy will surely be given to those who put away sin with solemn resolution.

From the Faith’s Checkbook Mobile Devotional Android app – http://www.LookingUpwardApps.com/fcb

 

Uncover and Confess Sin (Spurgeon’s Faith’s Checkbook)

From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
Uncover and Confess Sin
August 16
He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. (Proverbs 28:13)

Here is the way of mercy for a guilty and repenting sinner. He must cease from the habit of covering sin. This is attempted by falsehood, which denies sin; by hypocrisy, which conceals it; by boasting, which justifies it; and by loud profession, which tries to make amends for it.
The sinner’s business is to confess and forsake. The two must go together. Confession must be honestly made to the Lord Himself, and it must include within itself acknowledgment of the wrong, sense of its evil, and abhorrence of it. We must not throw the fault upon others, nor blame circumstances, nor plead natural weakness. We must make a clean breast of it and plead guilty to the indictment. There can be no mercy till this is done.
Furthermore, we must forsake the evil; having owned our fault, we must disown all present and future intent to abide in it. We cannot remain in rebellion and yet dwell with the King’s majesty. The habit of evil must be quitted, together with all places, companions, pursuits, and books which might lead us astray. Not for confession, nor for reformation, but in connection with them we find pardon by faith in the blood of Jesus.

From the Faith’s Checkbook Mobile Devotional Android app – http://www.LookingUpwardApps.com/fcb